Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority generates profit for economic growth
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA has made a profit of 15.7 billion naira from the seed money of one billion naira provided by government.
The Managing Director of the organisation, Mr Uche Orji stated this in an interview with State House correspondents after the leadership of the fund briefed President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
According to VON, he explained that the organisation briefed the President on its commitment to the second River Niger Bridge in the South East, health care, agriculture and power and its efforts aimed at improving the fortunes of the fund.
The Managing Director of NSIA said that his organisation was still very well committed to the second Niger Bridge.
“Our commitment is that we have a vehicle called NSIA-Motorways investment company that partners with Julius Berger investments to become the preferred bidder in the second Niger Bridge. We are still going through the process of signing concessional agreement to become a concessionaire and to do all of that we need to prepare the project.
The progress we have made so far is in preparation of the project. Making sure that the environmental impact assessment is made, the bridge properly designed and funded through our financial structuring. It is the project preparatory state that we are going into and that has caused us $2.2 million. This is a big project, the project we are looking at is 11.9km, the current Niger bridge is one lane going and one lane coming and what we are building is three lane coming and going, so it’s a big project. It is a four year construction period and we are looking at 2020 for the completion of the project.” Mr Orji disclosed.
The Managing Director of Nigeria Sovereign told journalists that the organisation was working and teaming up with some international firms to raise and generate funds.
“We have hired African Finance Cooperation as our lead financial adviser and engaged successfully with about five or six lenders so far and some of them are committed,” he said.
He explained that neither the Federal nor the State Governments are expected to contribute additional money into the fund due to the current dwindling global oil price.
“Oil price is below benchmark and because we are supposed to be funded when the oil price is above benchmark, so it will not make any sense for the government to make any contribution now when the oil price is still low. But they are other ways to support the fund which we have discussed with the President, but when the time is ripe that will be made known by the President’s spokesperson,” he noted.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Fund was established in 2013, to generate additional funds in profitable ventures for the socio-economic and infrastructure development of the country.
Posted by Janice Johnson
